Hecerê Şêx Huseyn

General Information

Also Known As

Hecherka shrine, Hecerê Şêx Huseyn shrine, Ziyareta Hecerê Şêx Huseyn

Type

Ziyareta

Nahiya (Subdistrict)

Efrîn

Village or Nearby Villages

Qîbar

Hecerê Şêx Huseyn is one of the shrines of Qîbar.

Map and Location

Coordinates: 36.520981, 36.912484

Source: https://akmckeever.substack.com/

General Background Info

Among Yezidis more generally, sacrifices, offerings, shrine visits, requests, blessings, and healing are part of how people interact with the divine.2

Ritual Practices & Beliefs

In one local account, sheep were taken around Hecerê Şêx Huseyn when the flock had tebek or bawî. The family slaughtered a kid, fed whoever came by, and said God gave them benefit or a cure.1

Transcripts

Qîbar (Ax û Welat - Episode 791):

  • 04:52 – Seydo names Hecerê Şêx Huseyn and describes sheep being taken around it when the flock had tebek or bawî; a kid was slaughtered, people who came by ate, and the family saw benefit or cure.

Videography

Qîbar (Ax û Welat - Episode 791): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8am1JvEiC4

Bibliography

  • Ax û Welat. "Qîbar." Episode 791. Published 2017. YouTube video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8am1JvEiC4.
  • Maisel, Sebastian. Yezidis in Syria: Identity Building among a Double Minority. Lanham: Lexington Books, 2017.

References

  1. Ax û Welat, Episode 791 (village Qîbar), "Qîbar," published 2017, YouTube video, at 04:52, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8am1JvEiC4. Quote: "Hecerê Şêx Huseyn heye, vêr dibên. Yanî me diçû pez didorê digerrand. Tê bîrê min, bavkê min, rehma Xwedê li miriyê we bin. Dewarkê xwe şerjê dikir, digo pezê me giyê ew tebek bûye nizam gi... bawî ye. Ê ke'rkê xwe şerjê kiro, î lê rast dihat dixwar, me jî dixwar û Xwedê fêde li me didî. Me vê fêde didî yanî." English translation: "There is Hecerê Şêx Huseyn, they call it. We used to take sheep around it. I remember my father, may God have mercy on your dead. He slaughtered his livestock; he said our sheep had that tebek, or I do not know, bawî. He slaughtered his kid; whoever came across it ate, we also ate, and God gave us benefit. We saw benefit from this." ↩

  2. Sebastian Maisel, Yezidis in Syria: Identity Building among a Double Minority (Lanham Boulder New York London: Lexington Books, 2017), 516. Quote: "Instead, they interact with the divine through sacrifices and offerings, that is, spiritual gifts that will help answer their requests or wishes, during visits to shrines and sanctuaries as well as during pilgrimages. Animals may be sacrificed, money and food is offered, and sacred objects are touched to receive the blessing or confirmation of ones requests." English translation: "Instead, they interact with the divine through sacrifices and offerings, spiritual gifts that help answer requests or wishes during visits to shrines and sanctuaries and during pilgrimages. Animals may be sacrificed, money and food may be offered, and sacred objects may be touched to receive blessing or confirmation of requests." ↩